Actor who gained great fame as the Frodo of "Lord of the Rings": Who is Elijah Wood?

Wood was born on January 28, 1981, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was born to his mother, Debbie, and his father, Warren Wood, who ran a delicatessen. With British, Danish, Irish and German roots, Wood was raised Catholic. Wood has an older brother named Zachariah and a younger sister named Hannah.

Wood, who started modeling at the age of seven, also took piano lessons. In 1989, Wood moved with his family to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career without his father, and his parents divorced when he was 15.

Wood made his debut in the music video for Paula Abdul's song "Forever Your Girl" directed by David Fincher. He then had a small role in the sequel "Back to the Future Part II", a science fiction movie directed by Robert Zemeckis. In 1990, he appeared as Luke in the television movie "Child in the Night", which aired on the CBS network. In the same year, he appeared in the drama film "Avalon" written and directed by Barry Levinson. The critically acclaimed film was nominated for four Academy Awards.

The following year, he starred as Willard Young in the drama film "Paradise," written and directed by Mary Agnes Donoghue. He then appeared as Nat Cooper in the fantasy romantic drama film "Forever Young" based on a story directed by Steve Miner. The film was met with mixed reviews and was a good success at the box office.

In 1993, he got the lead role in the comedy-drama adventure movie "The Adventures of Huck Finn" written and directed by Stephen Sommers. The film was successful both at the box office and critically. He later appeared as Mark Evans in the psychological thriller "The Good Son" directed by Joseph Ruben. The film, which received negative reviews, was successful at the box office.

The next year, he appeared in the drama film "The War" directed by Jon Avnet, with Kevin Costner and Mare Winningham. He was praised for his performance in the film, which failed at the box office and critically. He then had the lead role as North in the comedy-drama adventure movie "North" directed by Rob Reiner. In the following years, he starred in the adventure film "Flipper" written and directed by Alan Shapiro and the drama film "The Ice Storm" directed by Ang Lee.

In 1997, he starred in the movie "Oliver Twist", based on the novel of the same name directed by Tony Bill. He then starred in the science fiction disaster movie "Deep Impact" directed by Mimi Leder and the science fiction horror movie "The Faculty" directed by Robert Rodriguez. Both films were successful at the box office, receiving mixed reviews.

Two years later, he starred as Frodo Baggins in the epic fantasy adventure movie "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring", the first film in the series based on the novel of the same name directed by Peter Jackson. In addition, he starred alongside Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Miranda Otto and Sean Bean. After the movie was released, it received great praise and acclaim. It was also the second-highest-grossing film of 2001 and the fifth-highest-grossing film of all time at the time of its release. In addition, the film garnered many awards and nominations, and was chosen as one of the 100 greatest American films in history.

In 2002, he voiced himself as Tom Thumb/Prince Horace in the animated fantasy film "The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina" directed by Glenn Chaika. He then went on to star in the sequel, the epic fantasy adventure movie "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers", in the same role and with the same cast. The film received acclaim from both audiences and critics, making it the highest-grossing film of 2002 at the box office and the third-highest-grossing film of all time at the time of its release. Considered one of the greatest and most influential films ever made, the production has also received numerous awards and nominations.

The following year, he played the same character in the sequel, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," the epic fantasy adventure movie directed by Peter Jackson. After its release, the film managed to garner praise from both the audience and critics. The third film in the series was the highest-grossing film of 2003 and is considered one of the greatest and most influential films ever made. In addition to this, he has received many awards and nominations, as well as eleven Academy Awards.

In 2004, he co-starred with Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo and Tom Wilkinson in the romantic science fiction drama film "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" directed by Michel Gondry. Upon its release, the film received universal acclaim. The film, which also achieved a healthy revenue at the box office, was shown among the Top 10 Films of 2004. He then starred in the neo-noir crime anthology film "Sin City" directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller. The film was both a critical and commercial success.

He then starred as Jonathan Safran Foer in the biographical comedy-drama film "Everything Is Illuminated" based on the novel of the same name written and directed by Liev Schreiber. He then starred with Charlie Hunnam in the crime drama "Green Street" directed by Lexi Alexander. Both films were critically acclaimed and failed to find success at the box office. In 2006, he appeared in the anthology film "Paris, je t'aime" in one of 18 five-minute episodes, each shot by a different director.

Later in the year, he had a voiceover role with Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman and Hugo Weaving in an animated jukebox musical comedy film "Happy Feet" directed by George Miller. The film, which received mostly positive reviews from critics, resulted in a successful revenue. In addition, the film received both the Academy Award and the BAFTA Award.

In 2006, he got the role of William Avary as part of a major cast in the drama film "Bobby", written and directed by Emilio Estevez. The film met with mixed reviews and ended up with moderate revenue at the box office. It also received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture along with the other cast. That same year, he hosted the TV show "Saving a Species: The Great Penguin Rescue" and was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance in Children's Programming.

Meanwhile, he voiced the voice of Spyro the Dragon in the play "The Legend of Spyro"(2006-2008) and Mumble in the game version of the movie "Happy Feet"(2006-2011). During this time, he co-starred with Chris Klein and Jon Bernthal in the movie "Day Zero" directed by Bryan Gunnar Cole. He then appeared as Martin in the drama film "The Oxford Murders" (2008), directed by Álex de la Iglesia.

The following year, he voiced one of the lead roles in an animated post-apocalyptic science fiction film "9" directed by Shane Acker. The film received generally mixed reviews from critics, resulting in a moderate box office receipt. His first TV role was in the FX sitcom "Wilfred" (2011-2014) as Ryan Newman for four seasons. He was nominated for the Best Actor Award at the Satellite Awards for his performance.

Meanwhile, he appeared in the same role in an animated jukebox musical comedy film "Happy Feet Two"(2011), a sequel directed by George Miller. The film received mixed reviews and was considered a box office bomb. The following year, he appeared as part of a strong cast in the epic high fantasy adventure movie "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" based on a novel directed by Peter Jackson. Premiering in Wellington on November 28, 2012, the film received mixed reviews from critics, making it the fourth highest-grossing film of 2012.

Also in 2011, Wood appeared in the Beastie Boys music video for "Make Some Noise" and the "Tiny Tortures" music video for Flying Lotus with Seth Rogen and Danny McBride. In 2012, he starred in the romantic comedy-drama film "Celeste and Jesse Forever" directed by Lee Toland Krieger. He then starred with Nora Arnezeder in the psychological slasher film "Maniac" directed by Franck Khalfoun. He received the Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Actor for his performance.

He then took the lead role as Tom Selznick alongside John Cusack in the thriller "Grand Piano" directed by Eugenio Mira. The film, which received generally positive reviews, received awards and nominations in different categories. He then voiced Shay, one of the two main characters, in a video game called "Broken Age" developed and published by Double Fine. He won the 2014 Performance in Comedy, Leading Role award from the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers (NAVGTR) for his performance.

That same year, he voiced the character of Wirt in the animated television mini-series "Over the Garden Wall" created by Patrick McHale. In this role, he co-starred with Vin Diesel in the fantasy action movie "The Last Witch Hunter" directed by Breck Eisner. The successful box office movie garnered generally negative reviews.

In 2016, he co-starred with Nicolas Cage in the crime drama/comic thriller "The Trust" directed by Alex and Ben Brewer. The film, which received mixed reviews from critics, premiered on South by Southwest on March 13, 2016. The following year, he starred in the comedy thriller "I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore" written and directed by Macon Blair. Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2017, the film was honored with the US Dramatic Grand Jury Award.

From 2016 to 2017, he was cast as Todd, along with Samuel Barnett, in the comic book science fiction detective television series "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" created by Max Landis. The series, which lasted two seasons, was not renewed in the third season. The following year, he took part in producing the action horror movie "Mandy" directed by Panos Cosmatos. In 2019, he took the lead role in the black comedy thriller "Come to Daddy" directed by Ant Timpson.

In 2021, he voiced himself as Nick Johnsmith / Gristol Malik in the video game "Psychonauts 2". In the same year, he appeared as one of the leading roles in the crime mystery film "No Man of God" directed by Amber Sealey. The film, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 11, 2021, received generally positive reviews. He later appeared in the thriller drama television series "Yellowjackets" created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson.

He is next scheduled to star in the black comedy superhero movie "The Toxic Avenger" written and directed by Macon Blair.

Private life

Wood is with filmmaker Mette-Marie Kongsved. The couple has two children, a son born in 2019 and a daughter in 2022.

Wood, who established his own record label called "Simian Records" in 2005, took part in music videos of many bands or artists. In 2006, Wood was included in the list of "Hollywood's Top 10 Signers" by Autograph Collector Magazine. In 2009, Wood was honored with the Midnight Award by the San Francisco International Film Festival. Alongside these, Wood became a disc jockey. Wood and Zach Cowie founded Wooden Wisdom together and traveled the world. In 2010, Wood formed a production company called "The Woodshed" with Daniel Noah and Josh C.Waller to promote horror films. Later, the company was renamed "SpectreVision".